Protesting Buddhist Monks Disappeared from Mandalay

On November 15, five young Buddhist monks suddenly appeared in Mandalay, the second largest city of Myanmar for protesting the Thein Sein government and demanding for peace and freedom of political prisoners in Myanmar. They organized a public meeting in a square of the Mahamuni pagoda, the most famous Buddhist religious site in the town for a few hours in the morning.

On the second day, they led another activity and nearly 300 monks and people participated in the compound of the Old Masoyein Monastery and continued demanding to free all political prisoners in Myanmar, to stop civil war and to allow freedom of expression. Mainly they targeted to demand for peace. It took exactly one hour from 1 to 2 in the afternoon for talking about peace and demanding what they wanted. Closing the programme they said prayers for political prisoners and recited Metta Sutra for sharing loving kindness with all beings.

Authoritative Buddhist monks in Mandalay drove out young protesting monks to their own dwelling monasteries on November 17. After staying at the Yaytaw Monastery for one night, five monks were called upon to the Old Masoyein Monastery before noon by the Divisional Buddhist Monks Organization for the final discussion which had been actually arranged in advance to drive them out of the Mandalay region.

After a few hours' discussion, they were forced to get into a car and they finally had to give up their plans of demanding for peace and freedom. It is heard that they were ordered to leave Mandalay by the the National Headquarter of Buddhist Monks Organization.

They headed towards Monywa, the most important town in Sagaing Divisional Region and intended to stay there. The chief monk of Jotika Monastery invited them to spend a night or two but local government authorities stopped them even while they were entering their area and it was clarified that they would not be also received in that town.

According to one of those portesting monks, two of them including U Sopaka from Germany had gone to Yinmarbin and other three to Kannie. It is not known how they will continue carrying out their activities of peace until now. Most people in Mandalay are still worried about their security.

Some local people in Mandalay are confused for they had also disappeared suddenly.